Uncovering Hidden Potential: A Leadership Pivot from Frustration to Opportunity in the Workplace

Ever found yourself grinding your teeth over a team member's flaws, blind to what they excel at? That's the cliffhanger we tackle with our guest, who shares a tale of transformation that began with an exasperated manager and an employee's untapped potential. Our conversation pivots on a singular, powerful question that reframes a common workplace conundrum: "What does the employee do well?" This pivot from frustration to opportunity is a game-changer, and we're here to unfold how this simple query led to a vital shift in leadership perspective and team dynamics.

Tune in as we reveal the story behind an employee's journey from underperformance to becoming a beacon of expertise, all spurred by a strategic approach inspired by insights from "The Expertise Economy" by Kelly Palmer. This episode isn't just an anecdote; it's an eye-opener that illustrates the profound impact of nurturing strengths within our teams. We're not just recounting a manager's change of heart; we're discussing the ripple effect that embracing each team member's unique skill set can have on the entire workplace atmosphere. Join us for an insightful narrative that will have you rethinking the way you view your colleagues' abilities.

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Transcript

Speaker 1 0:36

Let me share with you something that happened at a client site. I was talking to a manager and the manager was really getting frustrated. He kept talking about one of his employees and it was really interesting. I want you to hear this for contextual value. Pretend you're in the office watching this and he kept going on. He goes, oh, she doesn't do this, she doesn't show up on time, and he's just exasperated. And I smile at him and I said do you mind if I ask you kind of an off the wall question? He said what I said take a deep breath. And his deep breath. I've never done this or said this to anybody. His deep breath was terrible. I was like huh, and the reason is he was so in tune with her faults.

Speaker 1 1:27

I asked him the question. I said I'm going to ask you a question and you're going to think it's crazy, and when I ask you the question, I want you to answer it as honestly as you can. He said okay, and I said take another deep breath. He said Tim, this is kind of weird. I said I think it's very weird. We started to laugh and I said take another deep breath and I wanted him to be as calm as he could.

Speaker 1 1:49

I said what does she do really well? And he sat there, he paused and he had the knee jerk, triggered reaction. Well, I don't know, not much. I said take another deep breath, honestly. What does she do really well? He said well, okay, if I have to, she knows her equipment really really well. She's been here a long time.

Speaker 1 2:16

I said awesome, how have you leveraged that strength? He said why would I? I said no, no, no, don't rebuttal me. I want you to think about the question how have you utilized that strength? He said I don't know, I don't think I have. I said okay.

Speaker 1 2:37

I said what if we tried a different tactic? He said what are you talking about? He said I can tell you know that she's late, she's frustrating, she doesn't work well with others. I get it. I'm wondering if she's looking for something more or she's just stagnant. And your conversation is not getting anywhere right. You feel inhibited, you feel frustrated. So what do you have to lose? He said well, probably nothing.

Speaker 1 3:09

I said well, let's try this For the next four weeks. I want you to sit down with her and ask her to mentor a new employee under one condition she's overly friendly, that she's enjoyable, that we need some internal experts to really help out. And if there's a if you haven't read this book called the expertise economy by Kelly Palmer, it's a fantastic book and I got him this book and I said you have to look at this situation from a different perspective, because all you're doing is raising your own blood pressure Within about five, six weeks, he calls me and goes you're not going to believe this, she's a different person. You know, when people say that to me, I always laugh. She's not a different person. What we drew out of her is what she chose to keep suppressed. When you leverage people's strengths, it doesn't work all the time, yet it does work most of the time.